It's the scariest night of the year: no, we're not talking about the January sales, we're talking about Halloween. Whether you're going out guising, or you fancy letting your hair down at a pagan fire festival, you'll definitely find plenty to do in the 'burgh.

After all, when else can you go out with your friends dressed as a ghost, ghoul or zombie...unless you're a Fresher, of course. Then the answer is "basically every time there's a Horror Society pub crawl."

And with more so-called "haunted" attractions per square centimetre than literally any other city in the UK, there's no better place to celebrate Halloween in all it's macabre glory than Edinburgh, with its wealth of ghost tours, creepy events and sinister goings-on.

This year is bigger, weirder, and creepier than ever, with an incredible range of events including an interactive horror show - who are also looking for staff, if you want to get paid to scare people.

To help you navigate the pumpkin-strewn maze of events, we’ve collected together just a few of the most unique, interesting and adventurous Halloween activities going on in Edinburgh this October.

Time Line

Halloween events in Edinburgh: 2018

1. "Condemned", Real Mary King's Close

This creepy storytelling session promises to help you discover the "truth" behind the ghost stories at hidden street Mary King's Close...and it turns out that fact is even darker than any amount of fiction. "Condemned" is a special late night experience at the close, which provides a historic insight into the infamous witches of 18th century Edinburgh. You'll travel back to a time when Mary King’s Close was a bustling hub of the city, and where suspicion lurked around every corner. Tickets: £16.95

2. The Samhuinn Fire Festival

This unique Halloween event is based on an old pagan ritual, which sees the Summer and Winter Kings battle for supremacy as Winter tries to bring the warm, sunny months to a close. Hundreds of performers will dress as otherworldly creatures at the event on Calton Hill, and there will be drummers and fire dancing too. It really is the biggest Halloween event of its kind in the UK, and you'll feel like the ancient, Celtic traditions of Scotland are being brought vividly to life.

3. "All Fall Down": An interactive horror experience

This terrifying outdoor show at the Pleasance Courtyard sees participants battle demons, both literally and figurative. You receive a desperate plea, begging you to help a lost girl find her way out of a darkened old courtyard. But once you arrive, you discover these arches and hallways are populated by strange figures from a dark fairytale, all of them luring you deeper into the shadows. You meet others lost there also, people just like you, but some of them have been there a long time. Scary stuff. Tickets: £20

4. Haunted Halloween: The Midnight Tour

Mercat Tours are running a special midnight ghost tour this Halloween, where they take brave souls into the Blair Street Underground Vaults. Scary at the best of times, during Halloween the vaults come alive. Cobwebs hang from every surface, dim figures move in the near-darkness. The candlelight hardly helps, throwing long shadows against the walls, giving you little more comfort than a small pool of light. You'll experience midnight in the depths of the murky, haunted underground vaults. Tickets: £15

5. The Rocky Horror Picture Show - Cameo Cinema

For a slightly more light-hearted approach to Halloween, look no further than this 31 October showing of classic 1970s film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It's camp, it's creepy, it's funny, it's strange: it's everything you want on a dark October night. Join Frank N. Furter and the rest of his weird entourage at this special, gender-bending event, dress up for the occasion, and feel free to sing along. Tickets: £12.20